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Legal basis

In accordance with Article 53a (1) (4) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on foreigners (Dz. U. of 2006 No. 234, item 1694 as amended) residence permits for a fixed period may be granted to foreigners who can provide evidence demonstrating the occurrence of circumstances other than those specified in points 1-3 or in Article 53 (1) provided that the situation which constitutes the basis for the permit applications justifies their residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period exceeding 3 months.

Decision-making authority

A decision on whether or not a residence permit for a fixed period should be granted is made by a Voivode competent for the foreigner's place of stay. A foreigner staying abroad applies for a residence permit for a fixed period through a consul at the Voivode who is competent for the intended place of stay. An application for a residence permit for a fixed period must be made with an application form. 

Documents

The foreigner is obliged to produce a valid travel document, justify their application and append the following to it:

• 1)4 current photographs which must not be damaged and which should be in colour, with the dimensions of 35 x 45 mm and made within the last 6 months on a uniform white background, with good sharpness, clearly showing the eyes and the face from the top of the head to the upper part of the shoulders so that the face takes up 70-80% of the photograph. The photographs must present the individual without any headgear or dark glasses, looking ahead with the eyes open and not covered by hair, with a natural facial expression and closed lips;
• 2)documents necessary to confirm the details contained in the application and the circumstances justifying the application for a residence permit for a fixed period;
• 3)proof of payment of stamp duty;
• 4)documents to confirm health insurance within the meaning of regulations on state funded healthcare services or a confirmation that the insurer will cover the cost of any treatment in the territory of the Republic of Poland;
• 5)documents to confirm a stable and regular source of income which must be enough to cover the cost of providing for oneself and their dependent members of family. More

In accordance with Article 53b (5) of the Act on foreigners, the income referred to in Paragraph 1 (2) less the costs of moving, per each foreigner's dependent member of family or per foreigner when they are living alone, must be greater than the amount of income entitling to financial benefits as part of social assistance under the Act of 12 March 2004 on social assistance (consolidated text; Dz.U. of 2008 No. 115 item 728).However, in accordance with Article 8 (1) (1) of the Act on social assistance and in relation to Article 1 (1) (a) of the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 24 July 2006 on verified income criteria and amounts of financial benefits as part of social assistance (Dz. U. No. 135 item 950), a person living alone is entitled to financial benefits as part of social assistance if their income is not greater than PLN 477 and to a person in the family whose income does not exceed the amount of PLN 351, this being subject to Articles 40, 41, 78 and 91.

According to Article 53b (5a) of the Act on foreigners the maintenance costs referred to in Paragraph 5 include at least fixed charges related to living in a property payable depending on the number of people living therein as well as charges for the use of electricity, gas, water, sewage, solid and liquid waste collection.

However, pursuant to Article 8 (3) of the Act on social assistance, income is understood as the total of monthly revenues received in the month preceding the application or, in the case of loss of income in the month in which the application was submitted, regardless of the title and source of this income, unless the Act provides otherwise, the total of these less:

  1)  monthly personal income tax;

  2)  health insurance contributions referred to in the regulations on the national health insurance in the National Health Fund and social insurance specified in separate regulations;

  3)  maintenance paid for other people.

• 6)a legal tile to live in a property in which they are staying or intend to stay. A contract of lending for use is not considered a legal title to live in a property in which the foreigner resides or intends to reside unless the lender is their relative in the ascending line, a relative in the descending line, a spouse, a spouse's parents or the foreigner's sibling.

Additional requirements related to the application

The foreigner is obliged to submit an application for a residence permit for a fixed period to the Voivode competent for their place of residence at least 45 days before the end of the stay period indicated in their visa or before the expiry of the earlier residence permit for a fixed period.

If the deadline for application submission has been observed and the application does not contain any defects of form or the defects of forms have been remedied within the deadline, the Voivode puts a stamp in the foreigner's travel document to confirm that the application has been submitted. A foreigner's stay in this period is considered legal until a final decision in the matter is issued.  More

Placing a stamp on a foreigner's travel document under Article 61 (2a) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on foreigners does not amount to issuing a visa or a document authorising a foreigner to stay in the territory of Poland and to travel within the territory of other states of the Schengen area. 

            An imprint of a stamp on a travel document only confirms that an application for a stay permit has been submitted within the deadline set.

Whether or not a foreigner's stay in the territory of Poland is legal during the procedure of stay permit is dependent on the law and the fact of having effectively submitted the application for a stay permit within the deadline.

If the foreigner has a travel document with a stamp referred to above, this will constitute evidence that a foreigner's stay in the territory of Poland is legal, pursuant to Article 61 (3) of the Act on foreigners.

A foreigner who has the above stamp in their travel document may leave the territory of Poland (when going to a country to which they have a right of entry). However, if they are subject to a visa requirement, they should obtain a visa authorising to entry into and stay in the territory of Poland or a stay permit issued by another Schengen area state to be able to re-enter the territory of Poland.

Where the application was submitted earlier than 45 days before the expiry of the stay period based on a visa or the period for which the previous residence permit for a fixed period was granted, and the procedure was not accomplished before the expiry of the residence permit, the foreigner must leave the territory of the Republic of Poland and await the decision abroad.

Appeal

If a party is dissatisfied with a decision made by the first instance they have the right to appeal against it, within the statutory time limit of 14 days after the decision was served, to a higher instance which in this case is the Head of the Office for Foreigners. With respect to the decision of the second instance, a party may file a complaint to the Administrative Court within 30 days of the day in which the decision was served and this court oversees the activities of public administration in terms of their compliance with the law.

Period for which a residence permit for a fixed period is granted

A residence permit for a fixed period is always granted for a period necessary for the foreigner to achieve the goal of their stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland but no longer than 2 years.

Stamp duty

 When a residence permit for a fixed period is issued a stamp duty of PLN 340 applies. A charge of PLN 50 applies when a residence card is issued.